Chapter 527: The Ultimate Goal of Alchemy
“You may not understand alchemy well enough to evaluate it fairly.” Retnin stepped in before Rayleigh could do more damage. Kyle Sichi’s claim — that he already knew whether every product was useful — had been inflammatory enough; he needed to keep this from becoming a confrontation the Workshop could not win. “Alchemy is a process of constant change. Every formula represents a potential product. Not all of them produce immediate revenue, but they enable other discoveries. The value lies in the chain, not the individual link.”
“Exactly.” Rayleigh was still red-faced, but found his footing. “Snow powder itself began with ice nitrite derived from feces. The conversion is its own process; combining ice nitrite with other materials produces snow powder. None of this would exist without sustained exploration — years of it, sometimes decades. You cannot evaluate that with a balance sheet.” He fixed his stare on Kyle Sichi. “And if anyone claims he can tell you in advance which products are useful and which are not, he is lying.”
“What is your opinion?” Roland addressed the man beside him.
Kyle Sichi had waited out the speech with the equanimity of someone who had heard similar arguments before and found them interesting but not troubling. He stroked his whiskers. Let the silence settle. Let everyone in the courtyard stop talking. Then he spoke:
“Your Majesty, they say this because they have not probed into the nature of alchemy itself. I can demonstrate to you that their formulas are all known quantities. I already know whether each product is useful or not.”
The Workshop’s collected alchemists stared at him.
Retnin did not speak for a long moment. He was doing arithmetic in his head, and the arithmetic was damning: the Workshop had documented more than ten new formulas in the past two years alone. To read through them carefully would take days. And this elderly man from Border Town was claiming comprehensive knowledge of all of them?
He is insane. But the thought arrived alongside its counterpart: If he is wrong about even one, he will have lied to the king in front of witnesses.
Archer, the quietest of the three chiefs, stepped forward. His voice was careful, like a man carrying something fragile. “How do you propose to demonstrate this?”
“Simply.” Kyle walked toward them. “Give me the ingredients and I will give you the formula. Name your terms.”
Rayleigh’s self-control gave out completely. “Very well. Every ingredient in this Workshop is available to you. If you give even one formula incorrectly, His Majesty will know what your claim is worth.”
“And if I am correct?”
“That is impossible.” Archer shook his head. “Formulas cannot be exhausted. New combinations arise constantly. You are taking alchemy far too lightly.”
Something moved across Kyle Sichi’s face then — not offense. Something stranger. A look that contained, mixed together in proportions that were difficult to read, something like sympathy and something like old sadness.
“I’m not taking it lightly,” he said. “The problem is that you are wrong about alchemy from the beginning — or rather, you know nothing about the fundamental nature of matter.”
Retnin felt his temples begin to throb. “What did you say?”
“May I ask what you believe alchemy actually is?” Kyle’s voice remained level. “Do you think it chaotic? Too complex and volatile to master systematically? You are wrong. Not in some details — wrong from the foundation.”
“Nonsense!” Rayleigh could barely contain himself. “Are you saying the theories the sages built across generations are simple? If alchemy is simple, why does every rock differ from every other? Why are there thousands of distinct reactions?”
Kyle smiled. “Yes. It is simple. And orderly.”
“Then what—”
“The diversity of the world is a different question.” He was unruffled. “It falls outside the scope of alchemy, strictly speaking — in a higher domain that I have only recently begun to understand. But the reactions themselves, the combinations — those follow rules. Precise, invariable rules.”
“Enough.” Retnin put a hand on Rayleigh’s arm. Kept his voice controlled. “Send students to prepare the materials. We will let the facts speak.”
If he allowed Rayleigh to continue, Rayleigh would eventually say something that could not be unsaid. And if this Kyle Sichi was somehow correct — even on one or two formulas — the situation would become very complicated indeed.
A long table was set up in the Refining Hall: three vials, three pieces of paper, one formula per paper, each selected by one of the three chief alchemists. The test was clear. Fair, even. Retnin had ensured that the ingredients were written out but not the expected products — Kyle would have to supply those himself, from knowledge, without any help from the materials.
“Begin,” Retnin said.
Kyle looked at the first paper. Something moved in his expression — a flicker of surprise, quickly gone. “Burning a mixture of saltpeter and green alum.” He paused. “The double-stone acid-making method. You’ve learned it. The products are multiple solids and an acid capable of dissolving metals.” He wrote a row of compact symbols on the paper as he spoke.
Archer, who had written the first question, pressed his lips together. “Correct.”
Whispers moved through the room.
“Silence!” Retnin snapped. “Two questions remain.”
Rayleigh muttered something about luck. His voice had lost some of its previous force.
Kyle read the second question and his eyes narrowed slightly — he had caught something in it. “Green vitriol and copper. A tricky combination: the reaction doesn’t begin if the acid concentration is insufficient. With adequate acid and sufficient heat, the liquid turns blue and produces gas.” He looked up. “Am I missing anything?”
Rayleigh said nothing. Which was its own answer.
The third paper: Retnin’s own contribution, something he had obtained from alchemists in the Kingdom of Wolfheart and which very few people on this side of the mountains had ever seen. A white solid preserved in water. This, he thought, is the one he won’t know.
Kyle picked up the vial, tilted it, studied the solid suspended inside. “‘Just take out the Stone of the Netherworld,’” he read from the paper, then looked at the vial again. “This substance burns spontaneously in open air and produces white smoke and white solids.” He set it down. “Is that right?”
Retnin’s voice had to be retrieved from somewhere at a distance. “Yes.”
“Please.” Kyle turned to face the rest of the Hall. “Ask anything you like. I would prefer to demonstrate more thoroughly.”
The room broke open.
“What happens when you burn ocher and charcoal together?”
“Ocher is a form of iron ore. At sufficient temperature you can extract iron from it.”
“Why does smelted glass take different colors? You claimed alchemy is invariable!”
“Because of different impurities in the base materials. Pure gravel is required for crystal glass.”
“Sir Kyle, I have a question—”
“So do I—”
The atmosphere in the Refining Hall had shifted completely, and Retnin was watching it happen with a hollow feeling in his chest. The alchemists were not reacting with outrage anymore. They were curious. They were leaning forward. And the moment that happened — the moment they began to treat Kyle as someone worth learning from rather than someone to be refuted — the Workshop’s position in this negotiation had already changed.
“Enough!” Rayleigh’s voice cracked through the chatter. “These are all old formulas. The Workshop has known them for years. If you truly understand the nature of alchemy, write a formula no one has discovered. Any new formula. Or if you’re so confident — give us the ultimate goal of alchemy.”
Silence.
Everyone in the Hall knew what that meant. The Philosopher’s Stone. Transmutation. The ancient rumor of a substance that could transform common metal into gold — an idea so old and so persistent and so perpetually unconfirmed that it had become a symbol of everything unachievable about alchemy, which was both the dream and the joke.
Retnin did not believe it was possible. He had never met an alchemist who believed it was possible, not seriously, not in any way they would say out loud in daylight.
Kyle Sichi looked at Rayleigh for a moment. Then he smiled, and something in the quality of that smile made Retnin go still.
“Turning stone into gold?” Kyle said. “Of course. Let me show you.”
Chapter 527: The Ultimate Goal of Alchemy
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“Huh?” Roland turned to him. “Why?”
“Well, Your Majesty… You’re likely to be deceived by someone since you may not know alchemy well.” Retnin interjected immediately. He knew Rayleigh took great pride in his work and sometimes even failed to pay due respects to Timothy. Certainly, he disdained the notorious Prince Roland. If Rayleigh accidentally enraged Roland, the rest of them would all have to suffer the King’s wrath. “Alchemy is a process full of changes. Every formula represents a potential product. However, not all products are as dazzling as snow powder. They may not instantly bring you gold royals, but they can help with the production of another extraordinary product.”
“Exactly.” Rayleigh rejoined indignantly. “Take snow powder as an example. One of its ingredients, ice nitrite, is converted from feces. The conversion itself is a sort of reaction. However, ice nitrite can also be mixed with other products and turn into snow powder. All these reactions and conversions are the result of long-term exploration and research. Even an experienced alchemy master can’t readily jump to the conclusion that one specific product is useless. Your Majesty, you can’t evaluate our work simply with gold royals.” Rayleigh stared at Roland’s chief alchemist with deepened brows. “If someone promises you that every single product can instantly bring you profits, he must be lying!”
“What’s your opinion on that?” Roland the man beside him.
The chief alchemist looked quite unperturbed. He stroked his whiskers and remained silent until nobody else was talking. “Your Majesty, they say this because they haven’t probed into the nature of alchemy. I can prove to you
that their formulas are all outdated. I already know whether their products are useful or not.”
The alchemists all gasped at these words.
Retnin was speechless for quite a while. Did this man know what he was talking about? He’d just said he understood every single alchemy formula! What a terrible joke he was making! The Alchemist Workshop in King’s City had discovered more than ten new formulas in the past two years, and it would take several days just to read them through. How could he say there was nothing new?” Retnin was stunned but at the same time he was secretly delighted. It proved Kyle was completely insane. And if there was a single formula he didn’t know about, he would be accused of lying to the King!
Just then, Archer, the quietest chief alchemist, came forward. He asked sternly, “How do you want to prove it?”
“Very simple.” Kyle strode toward the three chief alchemists. Confidently, he suggested, “Give me the ingredients and I’ll tell you the formula. How does that sound?”
Rayleigh was so furious he was ready to burst. “Very good. There are all kinds of ingredients in the Workshop. Feel free to use them. If you name one formula wrong, His Majesty will know you’ve been lying!”
“What if I’m correct?”
“That’s impossible!” Archer shook his head. “A few alchemy formulas can be repetitive, but there’s absolutely no way formulas can exhaust. You take alchemy too lightly!”
Hearing this, Kyle suddenly had a strange look on his face, as if he were studying them with sympathy or other mixed feelings. “I’m not taking it lightly. The truth is that your perception of alchemy is mistaken.”
Retnin could feel his temples throbbing. “What did you say?”
“May I ask what you think alchemy really is?” Kyle remained undisturbed. “Do you think it is chaotic, volatile and too complicated to study? No. You’re wrong about alchemy all the way from the beginning—or rather you know nothing about the nature of matter.”
“Nonsense!” Rayleigh hollered. “Are you implying that the theories passing down from sages are simple and straightforward? If so, why are there so many derivations and why is every single rock different from another?”
To Retnin’s horror, a winning smile fluttered over Kyle’s face. “Ah, yes. It’s simple and straightforward, it is.”
“What are you…”
“As to the reason why the world is diverse and manifold, it’s beyond the scope of alchemy,” Kyle explained placidly. “In other words, it’s a higher realm that I just got a chance to set foot in.”
“Enough.” Retnin stopped Rayleigh who was about to explode. “Ask the students to prepare the materials. I’m sure all this monstrous absurdity will be refuted by facts later.”
If he let Rayleigh keep going, the latter might raise his voice and lash out at Kyle, and perhaps even start to criticize Roland who employed him.
The man was indeed crazy to think that alchemy is simple and straightforward, Retnin thought bitterly. He would definitely teach Kyle a lesson afterwards.
…
A long table was arranged in the Refining Hall, with three vials and three pieces of paper on the top. Each piece of paper contained the names of the ingredients.
After a heated discussion, the three chief alchemists each selected a formula for Kyle Sichi to prove his theory. In order to show fairness, as well as to
stop Kyle’s blabbers, the three wrote all the ingredients’ names down. However, it would not be their business as to whether Kyle recognized them.
When everything was ready, Retnin turned to Roland’s chief alchemist and said, “You can start now.”
Kyle paced to the table and glanced at the first piece of paper confidently.
“Burn the mixture of saltpeter and green alum?” He was surprised by what was written on the sheet. “It seems you’ve also learned the double-stone acid-making method. The products of the reaction are multiple solids and acids, and the latter can dissolve metals.” He wrote a long list of symbols on the paper as he answered.
Archer, who wrote the question, suddenly was very embarrassed. “Correct.” He pronounced the word with gritted teeth.
The spectating alchemists started to exchange whispers. They had probably never expected Kyle could give the right answer to the first question within a second.
“Silence!” Retnin bellowed. “There are two questions left!”
“It was pure luck.” Rayleigh stamped about with indignity. “I don’t think he can answer the second question that easily. What is he writing on that piece of paper by the way?”
Retnin shook his head. His heart sank rapidly. To both Retnin and Rayleigh’s surprise, Kyle gave the answer to the second question a great deal of thought and even saw through the trickiness of Rayleigh’s question. “Green vitriol acid and copper? The reaction won’t start if the acid is in deficiency. With sufficient acid, the liquid will turn blue when heated, and it will bubble as well.”
When it came to Retnin’s question, Kyle did not linger either. “Just take out the Stone of the Netherworld?” He picked up the vial, shook it, and studied the white solid soaked in the water. “This is quite rare. It will burn on its own in the air and produce white smoke and white solids. Am I right?”
“Um…” Retnin was totally shocked. He had obtained this queer chemical substance from the alchemists in the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Few people had seen it before, and even fewer people could name its properties!
“Please feel free to raise questions.” Kyle turned around and glanced at the spectating alchemists. “I can prove to you that I’m not lying.”
The words stirred up the audience.
“What will happen when burning the mixture of ocher and charcoals?”
“Ocher is essentially a kind of special iron ore. If the temperature is high enough, we’ll be able to get iron from it.”
“Why are the colors of glass obtained via smelting different? Didn’t you say alchemy is invariable?”
“Because of the different impurities in it. We need the purest gravel to produce crystal glass.”
“Sir Kyle, I have a question!”
“Me too!”
To Retnin’s astonishment, the atmosphere in the hall was changing swiftly. The alchemists were gradually convinced by Kyle’s extensive knowledge and naturally started to show some respect to him. It suddenly struck Retnin that the alchemists were slowly accepting Kyle.
“Shut up, all of you!” Rayleigh cried abruptly. “These are all old formulas the Alchemist Workshop has known for ages. If you really understand all formulas, then write a new one that nobody has ever discovered. For example, the ultimate goal of alchemy!”
“That’ll be impossible,” thought Retnin, who swallowed hard. He believed all the alchemists here thought such a goal was as unrealistic as a mysterious legend.
However, he was astounded to notice a smile lingering on Kyle’s lips.
Kyle Sichi smiled to all the members of the Alchemist Workshop, who rested their eyes upon him. “Are you saying turning stones into gold? Of course, I can. Let me show you.”